April 2014 – SweetSourMoments

Sweet Rose

Published on April 29, 2014 by sweetsourmomentsLeave a comment

Actually I have no idea what rose is this, I just name it sweet pink rose because it’s been very sweet all these years, no diseases, no blackspots, flowering very freely, only moderate water need, not demanding at all. I even got it for free… from garden trash bag. My neighbor was pruning her rose when I asked for some of branches that were about to be thrown away. I just stick them in the soil and here they are, total 3 rose plants.

I put wire support, the one I usually use for tomato, it looks even better… looks elegant. The flowers can be heavy they bring its branch down to the ground.

pink rose 4 copy

The other 2 are beside the sidewalk, I cut them back quite often to keep them bushy and low.

Indonesian Kalasan chicken

Published on April 8, 2014 by sweetsourmoments4 Comments

This menu makes me feel “at home”, somehow makes me forget I am half of the globe away from my hometown. For those looking for recipe that incorporates turmeric, this may suit you. This is Indonesian traditional fried chicken recipe, very popular and you can find it almost everywhere in Indonesia, though sometimes people use different name but usually we can tell from the basic taste, turmeric and coriander.

1. Prepare and cut the chicken. I hope this picture would give you idea about the size of the chicken I used since I didn’t know its weight.

2. Prepare the ingredient: 1 lemon grass(cut), 2 fresh turmeric about 1.5″ each, 5 shallots, 4 garlic, 4candlenuts, 4 bay leaves,3″ galangal, and 1 tbs coriander. Ground the turmeric, shallots, garlic, candlenut, and coriander. My method is using food processor by adding 1C of water, quick and easy.

4. A. Arrange the lemon grass, bay leaves, and galangal on the top of chicken in the medium pot.

B. Pour the liquid from food processor. C. Add water just enough to cover the chicken (not too much to make the chicken floating). Add about 1 tbs salt, taste it once the water start boiling, add more if needed. D. Leave it for 15 minutes(this is my additional step to make sure the chicken absorbs the seasoning thoroughly), cook for 1 hour until the chicken is tender.

5. Drain the liquid, you can store it in air tight container in the fridge.

6. Fry in medium heat oil until golden brown, serve!

Hairpins – DIY

Published on April 5, 2014 by sweetsourmoments4 Comments

I like to save any left over craft project, scrap fabrics, ribbons, spare buttons, laces, even the ribbon ties from shopping bags (like the hot pink one in VS paper bag). I know they will be very useful someday and can always be made into something, just like this hairpins project. Except for the metal pin which I bought for $1.5/pack (10 pcs), all the material here is from the saving box, the box where I put all the left over and spare things I mentions above.

They are all customized and almost free, what I need now is how to make my little one leave it alone, not trying to pull it off her hair. Hopefully it brings you inspiration!

Coconut Fried Shrimp

Published on April 1, 2014 by sweetsourmoments4 Comments

I made this menu just because I wanted to finish up the sweet coconut flakes in my fridge. It is a left over from baking and had been sitting there like forever. This is very simple and almost no fail menu, the shrimp itself is very tasty so you will not really mess it, even with basic salt and pepper seasoning this will still be great.

1. Prepare 2 C big shrimps, peel off the shell. Mine is like 4″ – 5″ long individually, I left the tail and half part of the head. Marinate with 2 tbs of lemon juice for 5 minutes. Ground 2 cloves of garlic, 2 shallots, 2 candlenuts, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbs coriander, mix with 1 beaten egg white.